Age Before Beauty

Have Patience

“Sit still! Have manners! Have patience!” These were the commands that I learned from early childhood. That last one was big one for me, and I did learn how valuable a discipline it is.

In my adult life, I get people telling me, “I don’t know how you can just wait like that, I haven’t got patience for nothing! You’ve got the patience of Job. If you were any more laid back, you’d be dead!” They mistake my quietness and stillness for sloth or being care-free.

So many times, I have fared better in certain situations than others I’ve known and been acquainted with. All due to being patient.

I’m still learning about being patient too. When I listen closely to people in their 80’s and older, many of them share the same valuable lesson connected to patience. They say that many young, middle-aged and even some old people waste far too much time and energy on evanescent things that in the end, really won’t matter. We get so impatient with such things and ourselves, and always want to obtain them now or yesterday.

The seniors advise us to be more patient and discerning. Discern the things that truly matter from those fleeting aspects of life that don’t. Focus on and nurture that which has greatest impact on our mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Things like intellect, meaningful love, freedom, honour, self-respect, respect for others, respect for the world, our souls, etc. These intangible things may help us deal with the final years of our lives better, and they may be the only things that we can take with us in the end.

The other stuff is important for sure but not as important. We have to learn to sit still, be patient and really think about it to realize the truth in this.